gundamfanonfandomcom-20200215-history
Nike-class
The Nike-class Light Cruiser is a ship that not only holds the record of the longest service time, but also is one of the few ship classes to be used by so many nations and organizations. It is seen almost everywhere in the Earth Sphere, and it is almost impossible to not see one of these ships. Technology & Combat Characteristics The Nike-class Light Cruiser built by the unlikely partner ship of civilian-run Sphinx Heavy Industries and more military minded Vulcan Shipyards was the ship that would redefine the ideas of space combat. For before the introduction of the Nike Class the various space forces relied on small missile equipped ships and larger mobile armor or space fighter carriers to fight. Often a fleet wouldn’t even fire a shot at one another instead allowing the mobile armors and space fighters to decide the battle. All that changed with the introduction of the Nike Class Light Cruiser and its armament of new railguns which had been rediscovered by a team working for Sphinx. The Nike was developed in partnership between Sphinx and the primary ship builders of the Atlantic Federation Federal Space Forces Vulcan Shipyards. Sphinx brought to the table the new railguns and new engine tech while Vulcan brought the contacts and their immense shipyards to the table. The background of this unlikely partnership would the Vulcan’s CEO sole decision to not try to copy or steal this new technology, instead enter a partnership with the smaller company to produce a new warship with this new technology. Another major introduction was the Nike-class ability to carry six small mobile armors in a small hanger on the ventral hull of the ship. While a carrier could carry several times that number of mobile armors, a Nike Class could carry its own screening force to protect it from enemy mobile armors or space fighters. This would make the Nike Class a pocket carrier, though in a real fight the addition of a carrier would be better overall against an enemy force. The first major customer of the Nike-class would be the Big Two Federations, the Atlantic Federation and the Eurasian Federation. Both would buy over a dozen of the new ships to add to their fleets. Following this major upheaval other major arms manufactures and shipyards would race to copy the new railguns or at least improve on the original idea. Meanwhile both Vulcan and Sphinx would start selling more of these ships to other interested parties mainly smaller third party groups. Another major customer that would buy Nike-class ships would be the newly formed Republic of Altair who would deliver an order for some forty ships to Sphinx. Later the Two Federations would buy several further ships as their fleets became ever larger as time went on. Over time new warship designs started to pop up based on the new ideas introduced by the Nike Class like the Atlas-class Battleship, Ford-class Heavy Cruisers, Nelson-class Cruisers, and many others. Also several variants and updates for the Nike-class where introduced after a few years. Later when Vulcan went under and was nationalized by the Atlantic Federation the rights to the design solely fell onto Sphinx. By the time of the Bloody Valentine War, the Earth Alliance which includes a few countries that had used Nike-class ships in the past have basically all-out retired their ships from service in favor of newer ships like the Nelson-class Cruiser. Even then several third-parties in the Earth Sphere continued to use the Nike-class as their main warship of choice. While others like the Republic of Altair used newer ships based on the Nike Class. It would be during the war when Sphinx would introduce the new Nike Kai-class Cruisers which be a totally different ship. Sphinx would also offer a refit for the Nike-class where it would have the ability to carry several mobile suits. By the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War numerous Nike-class ships would remain in service in several different fleets, and it looks like the class would continue to do so for many years ahead thanks entirely to its successes Armaments ;*7 x M1A "Sword" 95 cm Single Barrel Railgun Turrets :The main armament of the Nike-class is the seven M1A railguns that are spread across the hull of the ship, which offers a wide target area. These cannons have constantly been upgrade over the years since the introduction of the ship. The current model is the M1G which ups the size of the gun to 110cm which gives it a heavier punch. Some discussion is start about changing these cannons to beam cannons but Sphinx has stopped trying thanks to the age of many of the ships, and the reactor not able to power beam cannons. ;*8 x Mark VII 27-Inch Torpedo Launchers :The main secondary anti-ship armament for the Nike-class and is mounted in the forward hull of the ship allowing the Nike-class to launch its torpedoes towards an approaching enemy ship. These launchers are able to launch various types of anti-ship torpedoes including the "Long Lance" heavy torpedo, and the dreadful Mark 9 Nuclear Anti-Ship Torpedo. These launchers are the only weapons on the Nike-class which have not been updated much, only a larger magazine as time went on and torpedoes got smaller. ;*8 x M2E9 55mm Anti-Fighter Machine Guns :The main anti-fighter and later anti-mobile armor weapon of the Nike-class, and are spread across the hull allowing the guns to be able to shoot at an enemy fighter or mobile armor no matter where its attack comes from. Like the railguns the M2E9 has gone under many different upgrades over the years, especially when the Mobile Armor was first introduced. The current model for these guns is the M2H3 60mm CIWS Gun, which is far faster and superior to the older guns, though not as good as some of the newer CIWS guns introduced. ;*3 x Mark VM3 Eight-Cell Missile Launchers :The Nike-class also sports three small eight-cell missile launchers that can be used both in anti-fighter or anti-ship combat depending on the payload. These small launchers are easily able to handle many different type of missiles thanks to its modular nature. Two of these launchers are mounted flanking either side of the forward hull, behind the two side M1 guns, while the third is on ventral hull behind the hanger allowing the ship to fire missiles many different directions. System Features ;*"Monocle Type 3" Sensor System :A new sensor system introduced on the Nike-class Light Cruiser which is quite superior over earlier sensor system which still relied on earlier radar equipment from the Reunification Wars. ;*"Phantom IIE" ECM and ECCM System :A system developed by Sphinx to work alongside the ship's sensor system however unlike the new sensor system this system is based heavily on earlier ECM and ECCM systems from earlier wars. However it is the first system to integrate the two systems into one combine system. Notable Ships of the Line ;*Pirate Ship Black Jack :One of the more famous of the various rouge pirate ships out in the Earth Sphere, and is the main base for the Black Jack Pirate Gang. It has gained quite a reputation in the Earth Sphere thanks to mainly its commander and its small Small Mobile Suit squad some of the better non-military pilots. ;*Pirate Ship Devil's Due :One of the main ships of the Debris Belt aligned Junk Rat Pirate Group and is used in many attacks on civilian orbital shipping. It is only stopped when the Venture Militia, the Earth Orbital Patrol Force, and the AFS Archangel attacked the Junk Rat base of Bolthole. The Devil's Due is destroyed by the VDS Nashville one of the new Nike Kai Class. Flights *'Flight I' – The first ships of the class produced and used by the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations. Around sixty ships of this class have been produced, however many of these ships are no longer in service thanks to being destroyed, sold to other parties, or retired and decommissioned. *'Flight II' – Nothing really different from Flight I just bought by the Republic of Altair. Forty would be produced with several still in use by Altair for secondary missions. *'Flight III' – A new flight produced when the Alliance of Sponsor Nations was first formed and several changes added. Mostly with the reload of the guns, and a higher torpedo magazine. Several still in use by the Earth Orbital Patrol Force and would later be rebuilt and converted to Nike Kai Class ships. *'Flight IV' – A new variant introduced after the Atlantic Federation nationalized Vulcan Yards, and produced entirely by Sphinx. Used by many others in the Earth Sphere, including the Lunar Colonial Alliance, numerous pirates, and several others. This flight is the first that uses a new catapult system to launch its mobile armors. Refits ;*Nike-class (CE65 Refit) :The latest refit program under Vulcan that follows the Federal Space Forces Sixties Rearmament Plan and gives the Nike-class heavier weapons and armor. A similar program is started with the Eurasian Space Navy as well. ;*Nike-class (CE69 Refit) :A refit and modernization program that upgrades the weapons, armor and changes the hanger so it could easily be converted to carry Mobile Armors or Mobile Suits. Though it should be noted that this would only allow the Nike-class to carry Three Mobile Suits not anymore then that. ;*Nike-class (Earth Patrol Type), or Nike (Patrol) Class :A new refit developed by the Sphinx Heavy Industries facilities located on Venture Station for the Earth Alliance's Earth Orbital Patrol Force to turn their aging Flight III Nike-class Cruisers into something far superior. The refit adds a complete new reactor, some new weapons, and a pair of new hull additions that gives this refit the ability to carry six mobile suits without any trouble at all. This refit is only really seen inside the Earth Orbital Patrol Force though it should be noted that the handful of older Nike-class ships that joined up with the Peacekeeper Alliance Fleet would undergo this refit due to several reasons. Subclasses ;*Halsey Class :See ''Halsey''-class for further info :A new class developed entirely by the nationalized Vulcan Yards, and is basically a small compact and upgraded version of the Nike-class Cruiser for the use of the Earth Alliance. ;*Nike Kai Class Cruiser :See ''Nike Kai''-class for further info :The new modern version of the Nike Class produced by Sphinx during the course of the Bloody Valentine War. Many older Nike Class are totally rebuilt into these new ships, but mostly are build from the ground up. Based lightly on the successful Altarian ''Albatross''-class. Gallery Salamis-class MSV-R.jpg|Nike Class Alternate Colors 01 (A Pirate operated Nike Class) Fuji-class (Salamis Kai) (SCRT-229 Suruga).jpg|The Suruga a Custom Converted Nike Class Category:Cruiser Category:Angelic Dawn Ships Category:Warships